Editing Psilocybin (section)

==History==
===Early===
[[File:Psilocybe Mushrooms statues.jpg|thumb|[[Maya architecture|Mayan]] "mushroom stones" of [[Guatemala]].]]

There is evidence to suggest that psychoactive mushrooms have been used by humans in religious ceremonies for thousands of years. The [[Tassili Mushroom Figure]] was discovered in [[Tassili]], [[Algeria]], and is believed to depict psychedelic mushrooms and the transformation of the user under their influence. The paintings are said to date back to 9000-7000 BC.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Samorini G |date=1992 |title=The oldest representations of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the world (Sahara Desert, 9000-7000 BP) |url=https://www.academia.edu/79946409 |journal=Integration. Zeitschrift für geistbewegende Pflanzen und Kultur. |volume=2/3 |pages=69–65}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

6,000-year-old [[pictographs]] discovered near the Spanish town of [[Villar del Humo]] illustrate several mushrooms that have been tentatively identified as ''[[Psilocybe hispanica]]'', a hallucinogenic species native to the area.<ref name="Akers2011" />

Some scholars have also interpreted archaeological [[Artifact (archaeology)|artifacts]] from [[Mexico]] and the so-called [[Maya architecture|Mayan]] "mushroom stones" of [[Guatemala]] as evidence of ritual and ceremonial use of psychoactive mushrooms in the [[Maya civilization|Mayan]] and [[Aztec]] cultures of [[Mesoamerica]].<ref name="Stamets_1996">{{Cite book |title=Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World: An Identification Guide |vauthors=Stamets P |publisher=[[Ten Speed Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-89815-839-7 |location=Berkeley, California |author-link=Paul Stamets}}</ref>{{rp|11}} In [[Nahuatl]], the language of the Aztecs, the mushrooms were called ''teonanácatl''—literally "divine mushroom": the agglutinative form of teō(tl) ("god", "sacred") and nanācatl ("mushroom") in Nahuatl.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} 

After Spanish explorers of the [[New World]] arrived in the 16th century, chroniclers reported the use of mushrooms by the natives for ceremonial and religious purposes. According to the [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] friar [[Diego Durán]] in ''The History of the Indies of New Spain'' (published c.&nbsp;1581), mushrooms were eaten in festivities conducted on the occasion of Aztec emperor [[Moctezuma II]]'s accession to the throne in 1502. The [[Franciscan]] friar [[Bernardino de Sahagún]] wrote of witnessing mushroom use in the [[Florentine Codex]] (published 1545–1590),<ref name="Marley2010" />{{rp|164}} and described how some merchants would celebrate upon returning from a successful business trip by consuming mushrooms to evoke revelatory visions.<ref name="Hofmann2009" />{{rp|118}} After the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire|defeat of the Aztecs]], the Spanish forbade traditional religious practices and rituals that they considered "pagan idolatry", including ceremonial mushroom use. For the next four centuries, the Indians of [[Mesoamerica]] hid their use of [[entheogens]] from the Spanish authorities.<ref name="Marley2010" />{{rp|165}}

Dozens of species of psychedelic mushrooms are found in Europe, but there is little documented usage of them in [[Old World]] history besides the use of ''[[Amanita muscaria]]'' among Siberian peoples.<ref name="nyberg1">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Nyberg H |year=1992 |title=Religious use of hallucinogenic fungi: A comparison between Siberian and Mesoamerican Cultures |journal=Karstenia |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=71–80 |doi=10.29203/ka.1992.294 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality |vauthors=Wasson RG |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovick |year=1968 |isbn=978-0-88316-517-1 |page=161}}</ref> The few existing accounts that mention psilocybin mushrooms typically lack sufficient information to allow species identification, focusing on their effects. For example, Flemish botanist [[Carolus Clusius]] (1526–1609) described the ''bolond gomba'' ("crazy mushroom"), used in rural [[Hungary]] to prepare love potions. English botanist [[John Parkinson (botanist)|John Parkinson]] included details about a "foolish mushroom" in his 1640 [[herbal]] ''Theatricum Botanicum''.<ref name="Gartz_1997">{{Cite book |title=Magic Mushrooms Around the World |vauthors=Gartz J |publisher=LIS Publications |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-9653399-0-2 |location=Los Angeles, California}}</ref>{{rp|10–12}} The first reliably documented report of intoxication with ''Psilocybe semilanceata''—Europe's most common and widespread psychedelic mushroom—involved a British family in 1799, who prepared a meal with mushrooms they had picked in London's [[Green Park]].<ref name="Gartz_1997" />{{rp|16}}

===Modern===
[[File:Albert Hofmann Oct 1993.jpg|thumb|left|Albert Hofmann (shown here in 1993) purified psilocybin and psilocin from ''Psilocybe mexicana'' in the late 1950s.]]
[[File:Golden teacher kookoskuidussa 3.jpg|thumb|The increasing availability of information on growing techniques eventually made it possible for amateurs to grow psilocybin mushrooms (''[[Psilocybe cubensis]]'' pictured) without access to laboratory equipment.]]

American banker and amateur [[ethnomycologist]] [[R. Gordon Wasson]] and his wife, [[Valentina Pavlovna Wasson|Valentina P. Wasson]], a physician, studied the ritual use of psychoactive mushrooms by the native population in the [[Mazatec]] village [[Huautla de Jiménez]], Mexico. In 1957, Wasson described the [[Psychedelic experience|psychedelic visions]] he experienced during these rituals in "[[Seeking the Magic Mushroom]]", an article published in the American weekly ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine.<ref name="Wasson1957" /> Later the same year they were accompanied on a follow-up expedition by French mycologist [[Roger Heim]], who identified several of the mushrooms as ''Psilocybe'' species.<ref name="Heim1957" />

Heim cultivated the mushrooms in France and sent samples for analysis to [[Albert Hofmann]], a chemist employed by the Swiss pharmaceutical company [[Sandoz]]. Hofmann—who had synthesized [[lysergic acid diethylamide]] (LSD) in 1938—led a research group that isolated and identified the psychoactive alkaloids psilocybin and psilocin from ''[[Psilocybe mexicana]]'', publishing their results in 1958.<ref name="Hofmann2009" />{{rp|128}} The team was aided in the discovery process by Hofmann's willingness to ingest mushroom extracts to help verify the presence of the active compounds.<ref name="Hofmann2009" />{{rp|126–127}}

Next, Hofmann's team synthesized several [[structural analog]]s of these compounds to examine how these structural changes affect psychoactivity. This research led to the development of [[ethocybin]] and [[CZ-74]]. Because these compounds' physiological effects last only about three and a half hours (about half as long as psilocybin's), they proved more manageable for use in [[Psychedelic therapy#Psycholytic therapy|psycholytic therapy]].<ref name="Stafford1992" />{{rp|237}} Sandoz also marketed and sold pure psilocybin under the name Indocybin to clinicians and researchers worldwide.<ref name="Marley2010" />{{rp|166}} There were no reports of serious complications when psilocybin was used in this way.<ref name="Passie2002" />

In the early 1960s, [[Harvard University]] became a testing ground for psilocybin through the efforts of Timothy Leary and his associates [[Ralph Metzner]] and Richard Alpert (who later changed his name to [[Ram Dass]]). Leary obtained synthesized psilocybin from Hofmann through Sandoz Pharmaceuticals. Some studies, such as the [[Concord Prison Experiment]], suggested promising results using psilocybin in [[clinical psychiatry]].<ref name="Leary1963" /><ref name="Leary1965" /> But according to a 2008 review of safety guidelines in human hallucinogenic research, Leary's and Alpert's well-publicized termination from Harvard and later advocacy of hallucinogen use "further undermined an objective scientific approach to studying these compounds".<ref name="Johnson2008" /> In response to concerns about the increase in unauthorized use of psychedelic drugs by the general public, psilocybin and other hallucinogenic drugs were unfavorably covered in the press and faced increasingly restrictive laws. In the U.S., laws passed in 1966 that prohibited the production, trade, or ingestion of hallucinogenic drugs; Sandoz stopped producing LSD and psilocybin the same year.<ref name="Matsushima2009" /> In 1970, Congress passed "The Federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act" that made LSD, peyote, psilocybin, and other hallucinogens illegal to use for any purpose, including scientific research.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The War on Drugs turns 50 today. It's time to make peace. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/06/17/war-drugs-turns-50-today-its-time-make-peace/ |access-date=2023-08-08 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> United States politicians' agenda against LSD usage had swept psilocybin along with it into the [[Schedule I controlled substance|Schedule&nbsp;I category]] of illicit drugs. Such restrictions on the use of these drugs in human research made funding for such projects difficult to obtain, and scientists who worked with psychedelic drugs faced being "professionally marginalized".<ref name="Griffiths2010" /> Although Hofmann tested these compounds [[Self-experimentation|on himself]], he never advocated their legalization or medical use. In his 1979 book ''LSD—mein Sorgenkind'' (''LSD—My Problem Child''), he described the problematic use of these hallucinogens as inebriants.<ref name="Hofmann2009" />{{rp|79–116}}

Despite the legal restrictions on psilocybin use, the 1970s witnessed the emergence of psilocybin as the "entheogen of choice".<ref name="Ott_1993">{{Cite book |title=Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, their Plant Sources and History |vauthors=Ott J |publisher=Natural Products Company |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-9614234-3-8 |location=Kennewick, Washington |author-link=Jonathan Ott}}</ref>{{rp|276}} This was due in large part to wide dissemination of information on the topic, which included works such as those by [[Carlos Castaneda]] and several books that taught the technique of growing psilocybin mushrooms. One of the most popular of the latter group, ''Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide'', was published in 1976 under the pseudonyms O. T. Oss and O. N. Oeric by Jeremy Bigwood, [[Dennis Jon McKenna|Dennis J. McKenna]], K. Harrison McKenna, and Terence McKenna. Over 100,000 copies were sold by 1981.<ref name="Oeric1991" /> As ethnobiologist [[Jonathan Ott]] explains, "These authors adapted San Antonio's technique (for producing edible mushrooms by casing [[mycelial]] cultures on a rye grain substrate; San Antonio 1971) to the production of ''Psilocybe [Stropharia] cubensis''. The new technique involved the use of ordinary kitchen implements, and for the first time the layperson was able to produce a potent entheogen in his own home, without access to sophisticated technology, equipment or chemical supplies."<ref name="Ott_1993" />{{rp|290}} San Antonio's technique describes a method to grow the common edible mushroom ''[[Agaricus bisporus]]''.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = San Antonio JP | title = A laboratory method to obtain fruit from cased grain spawn of the cultivated mushoom, Agaricus bisporus | journal = Mycologia | volume = 63 | issue = 1 | pages = 16–21 | year = 1971 | pmid = 5102274 | doi = 10.2307/3757680 | url = http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/cyberliber/59350/0063/001/0016.htm | url-status = live | access-date = September 7, 2011 | jstor = 3757680 | archive-date = September 23, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224902/http://www.cybertruffle.org.uk/cyberliber/59350/0063/001/0016.htm }}</ref>

Because of lack of clarity about laws concerning psilocybin mushrooms, specifically in the form of sclerotia (also known as "truffles"), in the late 1990s and early 2000s European retailers commercialized and marketed them in [[smartshop]]s in the Netherlands, the UK, and online. Several websites{{efn|The [[EMCDDA]] lists the general-purpose websites [[Erowid]], [[Lycaeum]], [http://www.mycotopia.net Mycotopia], [http://www.shroomery.org The Shroomery], [http://www.mushroomjohn.com MushroomJohn] and [http://www.entheogenreview.com The Entheogen Review]. Regional sites focusing on hallucinogenic mushrooms listed were [http://www.mushroom.dk Copenhagen Mushroom Link] (Denmark), [http://www.champis.fr.tc Champis] (France), [http://www.daath.hu Daath] (Hungary), [http://www.gratisweb·com/delysid Delysid] (Spain), [https://enteogeneos.com.sapo.pt Enteogeneos] (Portugal), [http://drogy.jinak.cz/houbicky Kouzelné houbičky] (Czech Republic), [http://www.norshroom.org Norshroom] (Norway), [http://planetahongo.tripod.com Planetahongo] (Spain), [http://knarkkorven.magiskamolekyler.org/svampinfo/index.html Svampinfo] (Sweden), and [http://trippi.info/taikasieniforum Taikasieniforum] (Finland). It also listed [http://www.magic-mushrooms.net Magic-Mushrooms.net]. The report detailed several additional sites selling [[spore print]]s in 2006, but noted that many of these had ceased operation.}} emerged that contributed to the accessibility of information on the mushrooms' description, use, and effects, and users exchanged mushroom experiences. Since 2001, six [[EU]] countries have tightened their legislation on psilocybin mushrooms in response to concerns about their prevalence and increasing usage.<ref name="EMCDDA" /> In the 1990s, hallucinogens and their effects on human consciousness were again the subject of scientific study, particularly in Europe. Advances in [[neuropharmacology]] and [[neuropsychology]] and the availability of brain imaging techniques have provided impetus for using drugs like psilocybin to probe the "neural underpinnings of psychotic symptom formation including ego disorders and hallucinations".<ref name="Studerus2011" /> Recent studies in the U.S. have attracted attention from the popular press and brought psilocybin back into the limelight.<ref name="Keim2008" /><ref name="Miller2008" />